2025-36 JUDGE RULES TRUMP TERMINATION OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD MEMBER UNLAWFUL AND VOID

 

STATE OF HAWAIʻI

KA MOKU ʻĀINA O HAWAIʻI

 

DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

KA ʻOIHANA O KA LOIO KUHINA

 

JOSH GREEN, M.D.
GOVERNOR

KE KIAʻĀINA

 

ANNE LOPEZ

ATTORNEY GENERAL

LOIO KUHINA

 

JUDGE RULES TRUMP TERMINATION OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD MEMBER UNLAWFUL AND VOID

 

Ruling follows an amicus brief AG Anne Lopez filed in support of Wilcox

 

 

News Release 2025-36

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                       

March 6, 2025

 

HONOLULU – Today, a federal court declared that Gwynne Wilcox remains a full member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), finding she was unlawfully dismissed by President Donald Trump. After her purported dismissal, Wilcox filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration. On February 28, Attorney General Anne Lopez joined a coalition of 20 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in support of Ms. Wilcox.

 

In its ruling, the court stated that, “in the ninety years since the NLRB’s founding, the president has never removed a member of the board. His attempt to do so here is blatantly illegal, and his constitutional arguments to excuse this illegal act are contrary to Supreme Court precedent and over a century of practice.”

 

On January 27, 2025, President Trump announced the dismissal of Wilcox from the NLRB during the middle of her five-year appointment, leaving just two members remaining on the five-member board. This denied the NLRB a quorum, incapacitating it. The amici states argued that a functioning NLRB is necessary for the enforcement of labor laws across the United States. 

 

The NLRB has broad authority to enforce significant pieces of American labor law, including protections for joining a union, engaging in collective bargaining and more. The amici states argued that the unlawful firing of Wilcox and incapacitating of the NLRB created a dangerous regulatory vacuum. 

 

While the president appoints members of the NLRB, the president can only fire board members for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office. This was done intentionally by Congress to grant the board some level of political independence. The court found that Ms. Wilcox was not dismissed for neglect or malfeasance, but rather because she did not share the political objectives of the Trump Administration. In its ruling confirming Wilcox’s status on the board, the court noted that, “as an entity entrusted with making impartial decisions about sensitive labor disputes, the NLRB’s character and perception as neutral and expert-driven is damaged by plaintiff’s unlawful removal.” 

 

In their amicus brief, the states argued that the NLRB’s independence is crucial to the board, as it prevents the NLRB from completely changing its approach to enforcing American labor laws every few years. The result of that independence is stability and predictability that are broadly beneficial to labor relations across America. 

 

Attorney General Lopez was joined in submitting the amicus brief by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.

 

The court order for summary judgement can be found here. The court memorandum opinion is here.

 

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Media contacts:

Dave Day

Special Assistant to the Attorney General

Office: 808-586-1284                                                  

Email: [email protected]        

Web: http://ag.hawaii.gov

 

Toni Schwartz
Public Information Officer
Hawai‘i Department of the Attorney General
Office: 808-586-1252
Cell: 808-379-9249
Email: [email protected] 

Web: http://ag.hawaii.gov